The Atlanta Braves played their home games at Turner Field, a brand new stadium, from 1997 to the end of last season. Throughout those 20 years, the Braves enjoyed nine division titles, four National League Championship Series appearances, one National League Pennant, the 2000 MLB All Star Game as well as being the site for the first NL Wild Card Game in the history of the league. The stadium goes down (reports are it will be converted into a football stadium for the Georgia State Panthers) as one that witnessed a great deal of success in the extremely short period of time it stood. The Braves are set to play their 2017 home games in SunTrust Park, a brand new stadium located northwest of Atlanta, in Cobb County.Usually, a marketing plan is put into place when a new stadium is set to open. Teams expect to be very competitive, with the thoughts of energizing a fan base into filling the new stadium regularly. Unfortunately, the Braves had issues selling out Turner Field during the time of their National League dominance. And just about the same time the Braves had announced their plans to build a new baseball facility, the Braves brought in veteran baseball executive John Hart and eventually fired General Manager Frank Wren, leading to the rebuild we have seen going on in Atlanta for the past couple of seasons. The Braves finished 2016 with a 68-93 record, one which was better than expected based off the talent of their roster. In fact, from September 1, on last season, the Braves had an 18-10 record. After going 9-28 under incumbent manager Fredi Gonzalez, the Braves had a 59-65 record under interim manager Brian Snitker. This prompted the Braves to name Snitker the full time manager, and in doing so, launched a campaign to return to competitiveness shorter than the current rebuild would suggest. The Braves have shortstop Dansby Swanson playing in his first full season after hitting .302 in 38 games for Atlanta in 2016. First baseman Freddy Freeman is currently just 27 years old and enjoyed a fantastic season, hitting .302 with 34 home runs, 102 runs scored and an on base plus slugging of .968. Center fielder Ender Inciarte is 26 and despite missing some time last year due to injury, managed to hit .291 and play gold glove caliber defense. 26 year-old Julio Teheran pitched to a 3.21 earned run average in 30 starts and 25 year-old Mike Foltynewicz showed some promise in his 22 starts last season, striking out 111 batters in just over 123 innings pitched. During the 2016 season, the Braves made a trade with the San Diego Padres, the third major deal made with them in a little more than two calendar years, for outfielder Matt Kemp. In 51 games with Atlanta, Kemp hit .280 and finished off his best offensive season since 2014 with 35 home runs and 108 runs batted in. The Braves continued their quest for veteran players into this past off season, signing pitchers Bartolo Colon and RA Dickey, trading for St. Louis Cardinals left hand pitcher Jaime Garcia (10 wins, 13 losses, 4.67 ERA), and first signing free agent infielder Sean Rodriguez to a two year contract, then trading for Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips after the former had his shoulder operated on following a major car accident. The goal has been for the Braves to let their younger players develop in the minor leagues as many of their best young prospects probably will not be major league ready for another couple of years. While bringing in a series of veteran players is a good idea to teach the younger ones, precedent has been set that this philosophy generally does not lead to postseason results. This is why I think it will help the Braves of 2017. For a team looking to simply get better, they made the right kind of moves, both on the field and in the clubhouse.Colon, with 15 wins in just under 192 innings pitched, and Dickey have the ability to help the Braves fill innings in their rotation. Garcia gives them a lefty capable of doing the same. Teheran remains their ace, though, and by the end of the season, Foltynewicz should be right up there near the top of the rotation. The three additions allow for younger, more inexperienced pitchers like Matt Wisler and Aaron Blair to pitch the majority of the 2017 season in the minor leagues. Veteran Josh Collmenter is an additional option to start some games if needed though he provides experience as a relief pitcher as well. Former White Sox left hand starter John Danks is trying to make a comeback and remains a possibility. Since he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after the 2013 season, veteran relief pitcher Jim Johnson has struggled mightily... unless he is pitching for the Atlanta Braves. During stops in Oakland, Detroit and Los Angeles, Johnson has posted ERA's of 7.14, 6.92 and 10.13 for the Athletics, Tigers and Dodgers, respectively. But during his two stints in Atlanta, Johnson has had an ERA of just 2.72. He is joined by a series of hard throwing younger pitchers. Right hander Arodys Vizcaino struck out 50 batters in just under 39 innings last year and left hander Ian Krol had 56 Ks in 51 innings in 2016. Right hander Mauricio Cabrera seems to possess the most talent among the hard throwers and seems to be a closer in the making. Left hander Paco Rodriguez has missed most of the past two seasons as he has recovered from Tommy John surgery, but is expected to be ready to pitch at the start of the season. In Rodriguez' last full season in 2013, he struck out 63 batters in just over 54 IP. Jose Ramirez should get another chance and the last bullpen spot should come down to veterans Collmenter, Chaz Roe and Blaine Boyer. Cuban third baseman Adonis Garcia is a wild card for the Braves this season. He has under performed at the major league level, but possesses a lot more natural power than he has shown to this point. But he is almost 32 and has spent the last several season playing baseball professionally in the states. Former starting second baseman Jace Peterson has the ability to play third, as well as Sean Rodriguez if he plays this season. In the mean time, Garcia will get another chance, similar to that of catcher Travis d'Arnaud with the New York Mets this season. Travis' brother, Chase, will be a utility player this season as he can play all over the diamond. Infielder Micah Johnson is a solid depth piece as well and he can play both the infield and outfield. Oufielder Nick Markakis is in the third season of a four year contract he signed after the 2014 season. He has not performed according to expectations, though he has been relatively healthy since signing his free agent deal. The Braves brought in veteran Kurt Suzuki to be their starting catcher with Tyler Flowers pushing him for time. The lineup I would go with to start the season is Inciarte CF, Swanson SS, Freeman 1B, Kemp LF, Phillips 2B, Markakis RF, Garcia 3B, Suzuki C. Peterson, d'Arnaud, Johnson, Flowers and maybe Emilio Bonifacio could round out the Braves bench this season. There is a possibility the Braves will open the season with eight relievers and a four man bench, though seven and five seem almost equally possible at this moment. Second baseman Ozzie Albies will probably be kept in the minor leagues another season but is expected to be the team's future along with Swanson. Left hander Sean Newcomb could debut this season, but the Braves are not in a rush. Pitchers Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka and Joey Wentz will all continue to develop with Ian Anderson likely being ready in 2019 or 2020. The prospect I am the most intrigued about is switch hitting infielder Kevin Maitan. Maitan has a pure combination of power and ability to hit for average and I expect him to move up the top prospect list quickly. He is just 17 years old. The Braves have brought a lot of postseason experience with them this season. Unfortunately, only Freddy Freeman has appeared in a postseason game wearing an Atlanta Braves uniform. I think Phillips will help out in the clubhouse, as will Colon and Dickey. I do not think it is fair to expect the Braves to be close to being in a playoff race in 2017. But I do think they have the ability to overachieve. The Braves number was set at 71.5 and has moved up to 73.5, which shows the belief in this team is starting to grow. I will take the over, as I have the Braves at 80-82, third place in the National League East division this season.

As we enter another exciting baseball season, it is always interesting to get a feel of what we are in for. Many outlets have given their predictions, most of whom have taken the safe route. The safe route consists of assuming the teams that were bad in the previous season will continue to be bad and the teams that made the postseason the previous season will return the coming year. These outlets will generally put one team that just missed out on the playoffs the season before to make it seem they are trying to make a reach. There really is no way to accurately predict how teams in any sport will finish in a given season. While certain teams seem to have more talent on paper, it is impossible to factor in things like injuries, chemistry, and something as simple as a player backing up what it says on his baseball card. Sure, it is easy to suggest that players may depreciate due to age, it is difficult to rate exactly as much. So, in the end, there is no set prediction to trust as being better than another. All should be considered equal as long as reasoning is provided for why a certain team may finish as well or as poorly. This is my fifth year doing my team predictions. While my accuracy has improved each year, it is far from perfect. I will discuss the outlook from the previous season, the moves made in the off season, the team's farm system and what players can be expected to improve for each team. Based off of that, I have viewed the Las Vegas over unders, and have given said team a win total. As in the previous years, I will do the predictions from worst to best. The Atlanta Braves finished 2015 with a 67-95 record, forth in the National League East. The second half of the season was very difficult to watch, going through a 18-37 stretch which covered the months of August and September. They did finish off the season with a three game sweep of the NL Central DIvision Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Two distinct reviews both equally represent the state of the Atlanta Braves after a very busy winter. The trade of shortstop Andrelton Simmons (.265 batting average, 4 home runs, 44 RBI, .660 on base plus slugging) and right hand pitcher Shelby Miller (6 wins- 17 losses, 3.02 earned run average, 171 strikeouts in just over 205 innings pitched) netted the Braves some of the top prospects in all of baseball. RHP Chris Ellis and left hand pitcher Sean Newcomb came over in the Simmons trade from Los Angeles and 2015 number one overall pick Dansby Swanson and RHP Aaron Blair going to the Braves in the deal for Miller. While the future may look bright, the present looks the exact opposite of that. The Braves did get a couple of everyday players in the trades as well. SS Erick Aybar (.270, 3, 44, .639) and CF Ender Inciarte (.303, 6, 45, .747) give the Braves a little bit of a better chance to contend. They join a lineup that feature star first baseman Freddie Freeman (.276, 18, 66, .841). Freeman hopes that he is fully recovered from an injury that cost him over forty games last season. Thirty- year old Cuban born Hector Olivera (.253, 2, 11, .715) is making the transition from the infield to the outfield. Though it is no guarantee it is a given he will succeed as an OF, odds are he will be able to break out this season offensively. Veteran OF Nick Markakis (.296, 3, 53, .746) adds some depth with veteran catcher AJ Pierzynski (.300, 9, 49, .769), second baseman Jace Peterson (.239, 6, 52, .649) and third baseman Adonis Garcia (.277, 10, 26, .790) round out the projected Braves starting lineup. I would line them like this- Aybar SS, Inciarte CF, Freeman 1B, Olivera LF, Markakis RF, Garcia 3B, Pierzynski C, Peterson 2B. Assuming nobody is traded by the start of the regular season (a far fetched assumption), the Braves have the makings of an extremely solid MLB bench. OFs Michael Bourn (.238, 0, 30, .592) and Nick Swisher (.196, 6, 25, .631) return for the Braves and they added infielders Kelly Johnson (.265, 14, 47, .750) and Gordon Beckham (.209, 6, 20, .607) as well as catcher Tyler Flowers (.239, 9, 39, .652). Daniel Castro (.240, 2, 5, .606) and Emilio Bonifacio (.167, 0, 4, .390) both have a good chance of making the team because of their versatility, but a spot needs to be cleared for Castro and Bonifacio needs to simply prove he can still play. If the Braves have one strength, it is the back of their bullpen. Arodys Vizcaino (3-1, 1.60, 9 saves, 37 K in just under 34 innings) will likely be the team's closer. Jason Grilli (3-4, 2.94, 24 saves, 45 K in just under 34 innings) is returning from an Achilles injury and is joined by RHP Jim Johnson (2-6, 4.46, 10 saves). Johnson started 2014 with Atlanta and was great (2-3, 2.25, 9 saves) before his trade to LA. A wild card may be RHP Mike Foltynewicz, who was acquired in a 2014 deal with Houston. He has the opportunity to become a dominant late inning reliever after coming through the minor leagues as a starting pitcher. LHPs Andrew McKirahan, Ian Krol and Manny Banuelos lead a strong core of hard throwing lefties. RHP Shae Simmons (1-2, 2.91, 23 Ks) is expected to return from Tommy John surgery and could free Foltynewicz or Banuelos for the starting rotation. Veterans Alexei Ogando, David Carpenter and Alex Torres are all in on minor league invites. The lack of MLB ready depth in the starting rotation will make things tough for Atlanta. Of course, the thoughts that Newcome, Ellis and Blair coming to the bigs within the next year or so are encouraging. RHP Julio Teheran (11-8, 4.04, 171 Ks) is the ace of this staff. I would think the Braves would look to trade Teheran during the season as long as he continues to pitch well. Bud Norris, a 15 game winner for Baltimore in 2014, was released last season after pitching horribly (2-9, 7.06). He finished off the year in the San Diego Padres bullpen and pitched okay, not particularly dominating. The Braves will look to Norris to be their number two starter in 2016, followed by Matt Wisler (8-8. 4.71), Williams Perez (7-6, 4,78) and Ryan Weber (0-3, 4.76). If this starting rotation works itself out, it will allow for their bullpen to be great. If not, Foltynewicz and Banuelos will get their shot. The three young pitchers acquired in the off season are unlikely to impact the 2016 club. Twelve of the Braves top sixteen prospects are pitchers led by Newcome, Blair and Ellis. Also among the list are RHPs Touki Toussant and Tyrell Jenkins as well as LHP Kolby Allard. Swanson looks like a star to be and he could come up to the big club late this season. But he is not the only shortstop high on Atlanta's list. Ozhaino Albies seems to be a tremendous glove with the ability to hit for average. Despite not having any power, Albies looks like a legitimate MLB caliber defensive SS. Odds are the 2016 season is not going to look good for the Atlanta Braves. It is for the best, as the next several seasons look more promising as the young talent will continue to prosper through the minor league system. Fredi Gonzalez is given the task of trying to keep the Braves competitive. Unfortunately, it will probably not end well for Fredi, or the 2016 Braves, for that matter. Las Vegas has the Braves Over/ Under at 65, but I expect the Braves to finish worse than that. I got them at 56-106, last place in the NL East as well as last place in all of MLB. The Braves will be able to strengthen their minor league system through the higher draft picks they will gain both this and next year.

We have now hit that time of year. Pitchers and catchers have already reported with position players about to report. Though opening day is a little ways away, baseball has started in the eyes of the die hard. The off season has come to a conclusion and the focus is on what to expect out of the upcoming series of baseball months. It also means the return of www.johnpielli.com 's 30-1 MLB countdown previews, the more controversial series of team baseball previews. All you have to do is go to the same generic websites and read the same predictions. They all have the teams positioned the same. The teams that made the postseason last year are rewarded in the minds of the pickers and are picked to finish in the top of their respective leagues/ divisions. The teams that did not do so well in 2014 are all predicted to finish at the bottom of the division- unless they had a big off season, where in some cases, they get expectations that they cannot fulfill. My predictions are based on how I perceive each roster looks. I have studied the 2014 MLB team, its 2014- 2015 off season, their minor league system and have come up with an overall outlook for 2015. I also use the Las Vegas over- unders to judge the amount of wins I think a team will net for the upcoming season. In some cases, my outlook is completely different from the likes of baseball prospectus (almost always is), baseball america, MLB dot com and other sites. As in past years, I am always up for the debate so I look forward to hearing from you. As always, thanks and "I'll see you on the other side." The Houston Astros are the present example of what the complete rebuilding effort looks like. The Astros started moving players in 2010 and 2011, leaving themselves completely gutted for the 2012 season. They fired manager Brad Mills in 2012, though the performance of the team was not his fault. Bo Porter was hired for the 2013 season and by the end of last year, he too was out. Once again, a team that was not ready to compete blaming the manager for their woes. GM Jeff Luthnow may say the key is to have the right guy behind the bench. Perhaps thats why he hired AJ Hinch away from the San Diego Padres scouting department, a place he had spent the past three plus years after managing the Arizona Diamondbacks. The fact that the team managed to improve by 19 games in 2014 to 2013 shows some progress made by the organization. However, in 2013 the team was 51-111, so the Astros had to try very hard to play that bad of baseball. The 70 win version had a lot to do with three major blessings. Jose Altuve won the AL Batting Title and led the league in hits and stolen bases. DH Chris Carter hit a career high 37 home runs and the team got some consistent starting pitching led by Dallas Keuchel (12-9, 2.93, 29 starts, 200 IP), Collin McHugh (11-9, 2.73, 25 starts, 157 Ks in less than 155 IP) and Scott Feldman (8-12, 3.74, 29 starts). The improvement of Altuve, Carter and the starting pitching was the exact reason the Astros improved by 19 games in 2014. I really like how the Astros went out and upgraded themselves in 4 positions offensively. They signed free agent SS Jed Lowrie (.249, 6, 50- coming off a .290, 15, 75 over the last two seasons in Oakland) to a three year deal. Then they signed Colby Rasmus (.225, 18, 40 in 115 games after 2 straight 20 plus HR seasons in Toronto) to a one year deal replacing Dexter Fowler, who they traded to the Chicago Cubs for 3B Luis Valbuena (.249, 6, 51) and RHP Dan Straily (10-8, 3.96 in 27 starts in 2013 for Oakland). Then, they acquired OF Evan Gattis (.263, 22, 52 as a catcher in 2014) from the Braves in a deal centered around pitching prospect Mike Foltynewicz. In spite of these acquisitions, the key to the Astros offensively will center around two of their top offensive prospects- both of whom got their first chance to play in the big league last season. OF George Springer (.231, 20, 51 in just 78 games) clearly has 40 HR power and should become that type of hitter assuming he stays healthy. 1B Jon Singleton (.168, 13, 44, 134 Ks in 310 ABs) had as bad of a rookie campaign as could have been imagined. He was given the chance to play in spite of his woes because the Astros knew they had nothing to play for. This season, they have given themselves some other options should Singleton struggle or not make the team out of camp. Gattis can play 1B, so can last year's 3B Matt Dominguez (.215, 6, 57). Backup catcher Hank Conger (.221, 4, 25 with Angels in 2014) is a suitable starting candidate with starter Jason Castro (.222, 14, 56 after a .276, 18, 76 2013 season) an option to DH. That can allow for Carter, who was primarily a 1B until becoming full time DH in 2014, to play 1B. The bottom line is that Gattis, Valbuena, Conger and OF Jake Marisnick (.249, 3, 19 with Miami and Houston) give the Astros options to have others start at 1B they did not have last season. The 2014 Astros lineup should look something like this: Altuve 2B (.341, 7, 59, 56 SB), Lowrie SS, Springer RF, Carter DH (.227, 37, 88), Gattis LF, Valbuena 3B, Castro C, Rasmus CF, Singleton 1B or Dominguez (1B), Marisnick (CF) or Conger (C). Marisnick would start in CF, with Rasmus moving to left and Gattis to 1B. Conger would catch, like I said before, with Castro moving to DH and Carter to 1B. If I were Houston, I wouldn't guarantee Singleton a spot as his upside is too valuable to waste struggling again in the big leagues. Have him start the season in AAA and bring him up when he is ready. Having Dominguez, Marisnick and Conger on the bench, along with Alex Presley and either Marwin Gonzalez or Jonathan Villar (and LJ Hoes if Singleton starts the season in AAA) gives the Astros a quality MLB bench. The Astros starting five will be led by Keuchel, with an AL leading 5 CGs and a Gold Glove Award, as well as McHugh and Feldman. Straily has a good shot of being the 4th starter, with the 5th spot going to be between Brett Oberholtzer (5-13, 4.29), Brad Peacock (4-9, 4.72) and free agent RHP Roberto Hernandez (8-11, 4.10 with Phillies and Dodgers). A couple of other options for the Astros are former top pitching prospect Alex White and RHP Sam Deduno, who came over from the Twins last season. Though 2013 number one overall pick Mark Appel should make his MLB debut this season, he will probably not come up until he is pitching very well in the minor leagues and his Super Two status is not an issue. The Astros bullpen has added the likes of veterans Luke Gregerson (5-5, 2.12, 72 games for Oakland) and Pat Neshek (7-2, 1.87, 71 games for St Louis) to join veteran Chad Qualls (1-5, 3.33, 19 saves, 58 games), Josh Fields (4-6, 4.45, 54 games) and LHP Tony Sipp (4-3, 3.38, 56 games). Fields has closer stuff and had 70 Ks in less than 55 innings last season, however, I think the Astros would be best suited to use Qualls in that capacity- at least at the start of the season. Qualls has the experience pitching in that role and though he is an average MLB closer at best, the unknowns of Gregerson and/ or Neshek being able to close games has to be understood. I would rather go with the givens of Gregerson and Neshek as very good to great setup men over wasting one of them as a terrible closer. Plus, Qualls is more expendable and can give way to Fields if he becomes ready to take the reigns. And how about if Lance McCullers, Jr is pitching lights out and he joins the bullpen in August or September? Maybe he close for the last two months of the season. Appel and SS Carlos Correa should both be up this season, but simply to get a taste of big league action. The signing of Lowrie may slow down the eagerness of the Astros to make Correa their everyday SS, though it is not impossible to see the Astros use Lowrie at 3B or as a utility player is he doesn't bounce back from his down 2014 in Oakland. McCullers is a long shot to play for the Astros this season. The Astros seem to be headed in the right direction. I think they will improve in 2015, but it seems tough to envision a run for an AL Wild Card berth. Barring a Texas 2014 like injury collapse, I still think the Astros will finish in last place in the AL West. There record will be 76-86. a 6 game improvement over 2014 and a game and a half above Las Vegas prediction of 74 1/2. Wait until you see who I have finishing just one game above them...

We have now hit that time of year. Pitchers and catchers have already reported to some teams' camps and others will be over the next couple of days. Though opening day is a little ways away, baseball has started in the eyes of the die hard. The off season has come to a conclusion and the focus is on what to expect out of the upcoming series of baseball months. It also means the return of www.johnpielli.com 's 30-1 MLB countdown previews, the more controversial series of team baseball previews. All you have to do is go to the same generic websites and read the same predictions. They all have the teams positioned the same. The teams that made the postseason last year are rewarded in the minds of the pickers and are picked to finish in the top of their respective leagues/ divisions. The teams that did not do so well in 2014 are all predicted to finish at the bottom of the division- unless they had a big off season, where in some cases, they get expectations that they cannot fulfill. My predictions are based on how I perceive each roster looks. I have studied the 2014 MLB team, its 2014- 2015 off season, their minor league system and have come up with an overall outlook for 2015. I also use the Las Vegas over- unders to judge the amount of wins I think a team will net for the upcoming season. In some cases, my outlook is completely different from the likes of baseball prospectus (almost always is), baseball america, MLB dot com and other sites. As in past years, I am always up for the debate so I look forward to hearing from you. As always, thanks and "I'll see you on the other side." The Atlanta Braves of 2014 needed some shaking up. Injuries to pitchers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy and bad contracts given to Dan Uggla and BJ Upton were a couple of the things that led to the firing of GM Frank Wren. In comes John Hart, a very intelligent baseball mind, and he is handed the task of getting this organization back on track. Hart has been very busy and it seems his focus is to strengthen the farm system and the major league roster with younger players who will be around for years to come. It seems to come, however, at the expense of this coming season. While many teams have taken steps toward being a postseason contender in 2015, the Braves have taken steps back. If there is a reason the Braves could surprise in 2015, it will be because of their starting rotation. Shelby Miller (10-9, 3.74, 31 starts in 2014) comes over from St Louis in a deal for OF Jason Heyward. With Heyward being a free agent after this season, it looks as if this will be a very good trade for the Braves going forward. Miller joins RHP Julio Teheran (14-13, 2.89), Mike Minor (6-12, 4.77) and Alex Wood (11-11, 2.78) in what should be a deep rotation. LHP Eric Stults (8-17, 4.30, 32 starts for Padres) is the early favorite for the 5th spot. Wandy Rodriquez is in camp to provide a veteran presence in case of an injury, so his chance of making the rotation is not very good if the other pitchers stay healthy. If anybody takes the number five away from Stults, it will be young newcomers Mike Foltynewicz, Manuel Banuelos or Max Fried, all of whom were acquired this off season in trades. All three have very good stuff, with Fried recovering from an arm injury. If Foltynewicz was still in Houston, he would be a lock to be part of the Astros rotation in 2015. The Braves made trades in which they moved OFs Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis, 2B Tommy LaStella and RHP Drew Carpenter to get Miller, Foltynewicz, Arodys Vizcaino and Banuelos. Losing Heyward, Upton and Gattis means the Braves have to replace 77 2B, 62 HR, 212 RBI and 192 RS. The only positive is that the Braves rid themselves of 366 strikeouts from the 2014 season. One of the problems with the Braves lineup has been the amount of Ks which has reduced the amount of runs they could be scoring. That being said, they do need to have players capable of driving them in. Freddie Freeman is by far their best player and has been over the past couple seasons. He did, however, have a slightly down 2014 (.288, 18, 78, 43 2B, 93 RS, 175 H while playing all 162 games. He is joined by free agent signing Nick Markakis (.276, 14, 50, 150 games for Baltimore). 3B Chris Johnson (.263, 10, 58) and Andrelton Simmons (.244, 7, 46) are the other key returners to the Braves lineup. Of course, Simmons is by far the best defensive SS in baseball. BJ Upton (.208, 12, 35, 173 Ks, .652 OPS) is entering the 3rd year of a 5 year, $75 million contract he signed with the Braves after 2012. The Braves would love to move him, but because of the lack of interest the team has to either see what they can get out of him or cut their losses. They cut their losses with Uggla last season after giving him some time to get out of his funk. I think they owe Upton the same, but should have a contingency plan in place if Upton continues to struggle. The Braves signed free agent 2B Alberto Callaspo (.223, 4, 39 with Oakland last year) and OFs Jonny Gomes (.234, 6, 37 with Boston and Oakland) and Eric Young Jr (.229, 1, 17, 30 SB with Mets) to play 2B and LF. Young also doubles as a solid defensive 2B if the Braves wish to play him there. Christian Bethancourt (.283, 8, 48 in 91 games in AAA) inherits the full time job behind the plate from Gattis. Veteran AJ Pierzynski comes in to back him up. The Braves lineup should look something like this: Young/ Callaspo LF/ 2B, Simmons SS, Markakis RF, Freeman 1B, Johnson 3B, Callaspo/ Gomes 2B/ LF, Bethancourt C, Upton CF. Of course, Upton can lead off or bat in a power spot of the order... if he proves to have anything left. Players to consider for the Braves bench include Joey Terdoslavich, Zoilo Almonte, Kelly Johnson, John Buck and Eudy Perez. The Braves bullpen is led by Craig Kimbrel (0-3, 47 saves, 1.61) and a group of veterans that have proven themselves at many points during their careers. The best of the bunch is Jason Grilli (1-5, 12 saves, 4.00 in 62 games for Pirates and Angels- a Passed Ball Show guest), who signed a two year deal as a free agent. LHPs Luis Avilan (4-1, 4.57, 62 games) and James Russell (0-2, 2.97, 66 games for Cubs and Braves) and Vizcaino set the Braves up with 5 givens going into spring training. RHPs Jim Johnson, Jose Veras and Josh Outman can make the bullpen even better if any come back to old form. The Braves have injected a little bit of youth in a team that showed signs of age, even if the age was not on paper. A Braves fan can hang onto the thought of the young pitching carrying the team, since they are not expected to score a lot of runs. I like the Braves, but more for 2016 than 2015. The unproven young pitchers can make their impact this season and give John Hart the ability to deal from a position of strength to balance the team (i.e. add more offense). Las Vegas feels the same way, putting their over/ under at 73 1/2. I see them finishing a little less than that, at 71-91, 4th place in the NL East.

I'm happy to be putting together my annual MLB team previews for the 3rd consecutive March. Each of the past seasons, I have learned from my experience that I have to make adjustments to my initial thoughts. My beef has been with all the experts just piggy backing off Baseball Prospectus to rank the teams to prospective finishes. Before the 2012 season, I tried to make a point that they are never completely correct. By doing so, I made some bolder predictions to try to stand out. I also noticed that the know it alls simply like to predict that the same teams that were successful last season will automatically be great the following year. While that is not necessarily true, there is no formula to pick that "sleeper team" for any given season. Doing this for the 3rd season, I've put together a better balance of logic and belief in the up and comer. Feel free to comment both on the outlook of each team I preview as well as where I rank them among the 30 in MLB. The Houston Astros made their debut in the AL last season and did probably as well as could have been expected. The competition of both the AL West and the American League as a whole made the transition very difficult. On the bright side, the team has invested a lot in its player development and has one of the best young farm systems in all of MLB. Under new manager Bo Porter, the team finished 51-111 with the worst record in all of MLB. In what I feel was a stark contrast to last off season, I actually think the Astros did a good job. They traded for Dexter Fowler, getting themselves a regular CF and also added 1B Jesus Guzman and RHP Alex White through trades. They signed Scott Feldman and Jerome Williams as free agents, two pitchers who should be able to eat innings and give the team better matchups against other teams starters. I agree that neither will ever be a number one, but having them at the top is better than what they have had over the past two seasons. They also added veteran relievers Jesse Crain and Chad Qualls to the mix, hopefully blending in with the younger arms they have. While the outlook does not look too good for this season, there is a lot to look forward to. Shortstop prospect and former number one overall draft pick Carlos Correa should make his MLB debut this season as well as Jonathan Singleton, George Springer and Delino DeShields, Jr. Jared Cosart is their first high end pitching prospect to make his debut in this regime. He is likely to be joined by Mark Appel and Lance McCullers, Jr soon. It will be difficult to expect any of these players to star right away, but for Cosart and Appel it would not be a surprise. As far as this season goes, the Astros are returning their two best offensive players, All Stars Jason Castro (.276, 18, 56) and Jose Altuve (.283, 5, 52). They are joined by Chris Carter (.223, 28, 82, 212 Ks) and Matt Dominguez (.241, 21, 77). Soon to be 23 year old SS Jonathan Villar (May 9) will be the starting SS opening day. He hit .243 in 58 games last season and will step aside as soon as Correa is ready. Fowler is coming off a down season in Colorado (.263, 12, 42) where he played in just 119 games due to injury. Guzman (.226, 9, 35 in 126 games in 2013) has faded over the past two seasons since having a solid 2011. LJ Hoes (.287, 1, 10 in 46 games) and Robbie Grossman (.268, 4, 21 in 63 games) are likely to start in the outfield until Springer and maybe DeShields (if they move him from 2B) are ready for the big leagues. It is a matter of time before Singleton and Correa take over for Guzman and Villar, repectively. My lineup would look like this: Altuve 2B, Hoes RF, Fowler CF, Castro C, Carter DH, Dominguez 3B, Guzman 1B, Grossman LF, Villar SS. Marwin Gonzalez and JD Martinez will probably anchor the bench with a possibility that Marc Krauss gets a look. Ultimately, the prospects will move some of the projected regulars to the bench. I do like the moves to bring in both Feldman (12-12, 3.86 in 30 starts for Cubs and Orioles) and Williams (9-10, 4.57 in 37 games, 25 starts for Angels). Cosart (1-1, 1.95 in 10 starts last season) and Brad Peacock (5-6, 5.18 in 18 games, 14 starts) are likely to start the season in the rotation. The final spot and top insurance policies will be from the group of Brett Oberholtzer (4-5, 2.76 in 13 games, 10 starts), Lucas Harrell (6-17, 5.86 in 36 games, 22 starts), Dallas Keuchel (6-10, 5.15, 31, 22), Paul Clemens (4-7, 5.40, 35, 5) and Collin McHugh (0-4, 10.04, 7, 5). Don't let some of the numbers deceive you, Keuchel and Harrell should show improvement this season and McHugh has not gotten a full chance to start in the big leagues yet. Ultimately, Appel and Mike Foltynewicz could get their feet wet this season. Feldman, Williams and Peacock should be able to eat a lot of innings this season. Cosart and Harrell will fill out the rotation, in my opinion, to start the season. The Astros bullpen is a disaster. Last year, they got some help from Jose Veras before he was traded to the Tigers. Wesley Wright (0-4, 3.92 in 54 games in 2013 with Astros) was traded to the Rockies for Alex White, who could be an important piece in the bullpen for them. The fact that Josh Fields (1-3, 4.97 in 41 games) and Chia-Jen Lo (0-3, 4.19 in 19 games) are the favorites to be the team's closer does not bode well for them. Crain, if he is healthy, can be a godsend for the one time Colt 45s (2-3, 0.74 in 38 games with White Sox last season). Despite a very good 2013 for the Marlins, Chad Qualls (5-2, 2.61 in 66 games) has been very up and down season to season. White (2-9. 5.91 in 23 games, 20 starts for Rockies last season) was a top prospect for Indians and Rockies and could be a sleeper to establish himself as a reliever. Darrin Downs and Raul Valdez will battle for the left handed specialist role. Two others to watch are former Padres RHP Anthony Bass and former Red Sox and Indians RP Matt Albers. My bullpen would consist of Fields, Lo, Bass, Crain, Qualls, Albers and Downs. They all need to be at their best for this to be a good BP this year. I think the Astros can improve this year, but not much based on record. They were 51-111 last season; I see them at 58-104, last place in the AL West. Vegas had them at 62.5, so I am taking the under. The 7 game improvement does not seem like much, but they play in one of the toughest divisions in all of MLB. The importance is in the development and to get some of the younger top players into the majors. I think 2015 could see a significant improvement if the seeds start to get planted.